Page 56 of The Missing Couple

But he did not want Charly to pay the price for his moves. He’d already allowed her to grow far too deeply involved, putting her directly in the line of fire.

He knocked on the door. Waited for her to answer, but when the door opened it was Shelly. Judging by the look on her face, she was in serious distress.

“Where’s Charly?” he asked as he stepped inside.

“I don’t know. She left just before eight. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn’t listen.” Her hands wrung together in front of her. “I haven’t heard back from her in all this time, and I’ve called her cell and it just goes to voice mail.”

His concern moved to the next level. “Tell me exactly what she did when she got here.”

Shelly took a breath. “She asked me to stay until she got back. She said it might be late. Then she rounded up a flashlight, a bottle of water…” Her face scrunched as if she could barely hold back the tears. “She took her father’s hunting rifle.”

His jaw clenched to hold back a wave of curses. Not good. Not good at all. “Did she say anything about where she was going?”

Shelly took another of those slow, deep breaths. “She said: ‘When Billie gets here tell him I went back. He’ll know what to do.’”

The concern escalating inside him turned to fear. “You’re certain those were her exact words.”

Shelly nodded.

He hesitated. “Did she take that white truck that was sitting out there?”

“The one Vince left, yes.”

“Thanks, Shelly. Hold down the fort.”

When he reached the door, her voice stopped him. “Are you going to find her and bring her home?”

He glanced back at the woman so very worried about her friend. “I am.”

Not only was he going to bring Charly home, he was bringing his sister and her new husband home, too.

Lost in the Woods Getaway

Scottsboro Highway, 9:45 p.m.

BILLIE PARKED OUTSIDE the cabin that served as the office and the home to the Rogers family compound. Both the vehicles that had been here before were here now, which hopefully meant the owners were home. He’d driven the road that wound behind the property and found the white truck Vince had lent Charly but it was too damned dark and he didn’t have the time to try to find her in those woods.

Instead, he’d come straight to the center of activity—to the source. From the number of guests he noticed in the glass dome in the center courtyard, a dinner party was happening. He imagined the Rogers family would not want trouble. That would work to his advantage because Billie was ready to unleash exactly that—trouble. He unlocked the glove box and reached inside. He didn’t carry a weapon even when on the job unless it was absolutely necessary.

This was one of those necessary moments.

He climbed out of the SUV, tucked the weapon into his waistband at the small of his back. When he reached the door that displayed the office hours and this was well past, he banged hard. Hard enough to shake the wooden slab in its frame.

There were lights on in the cabin but not in this front room. He pressed a doorbell that hopefully sent an alarm to the living quarters to let whoever was inside know someone was at the door. He waited patiently for ten, then fifteen seconds. The lights came on in the room and he banged on the door again for good measure.

“All right, all right, I’m coming,” a man called out.

The door opened and Billie was ready. He held his weapon so that it would be the first thing the man saw.

His eyes rounded and his mouth did the same. Lucky for both of them no sound came out.

“Step back,” Billie ordered, “unless you want the guests having dinner over there to hear and see this.”

The man shuffled back awkwardly. “We…we don’t keep money here.”

“I don’t want your money,” Billie said as he closed the door behind him. “I’m looking for Charly Nix. She’s here and I need you to take me to her.”

“Charly.” He frowned. “Why would she be here?”